Pittsburgh Public Theater Announces 2022-2023 Season

Pittsburgh Public Theater has announced the company's 2022-2023 season, IT'S A NEW DAY, will kick off in October 2022 and run through June 2023. This season contains stories filled with heart and humor certain to warm each of us with a renewed feeling of what it means to be a neighbor, to be a family, and to be connected to the people we find ourselves sitting next to after too many years sitting apart.

"For our first full season since 2019, we launch with a promise to our audiences, artists, and to our city that it is a new day at the Public. We are all changed from the last two years, but this season we are taking a big and bold step forward to return to the stage, and to each other, reinvigorated with beloved stories that illuminate our histories and thrilling new voices who are shaping our future. We have all had such a journey over these last few years. I cannot wait to invite Pittsburgh and our Public family to share this moment with us, to delight in the sound of laughter and the adventure of live performance across a full spectrum of stories next year. I believe the best is yet to come at Pittsburgh Public Theater, and for all of us." - Pittsburgh Public Theater Artistic Director, Marya Sea Kaminski

2022-2023 PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER SEASON

A RAISIN IN THE SUN

October 12 - 30, 2022
By Lorraine Hansberry

TONY AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN CLASSIC
Lorraine Hansberry was only twenty-eight years old when she became the first Black woman produced on Broadway with her groundbreaking drama about the Youngers, a tightknit family living in a small apartment in 1950s Chicago, who receive a large life insurance payment after the death of their patriarch Big Walter. They each have a dream for the money - adult son Walter sees this as his one chance to go into business and become self-sufficient; his sister Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor and hopes the money can help pay for medical school; and just as she tends to the resilient, tiny plant struggling for sunlight on her windowsill, Mama hopes to use the money to find a new home with a little space where her grandson Travis can play in the sun. In its Pittsburgh Public debut, Hansberry's American masterpiece continues to resonate through our shared history as a testament to love in the face of challenge and daring in the wake of dreams deferred.

A CHRISTMAS STORY

Nov 30 - Dec 18, 2022
Play by Philip Grecian • Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski
Production Sponsor Richard W. Moriarty, M.D.

A TIMELESS HOLIDAY STORY LIKE NONE OTHER
"You'll shoot your eye out!" All nine-year-old Ralphie Parker wants is to find a Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun under the tree on Christmas morning. To get one, he launches on a hysterical, hijinks-filled adventure that triggers all the trappings of a perfect family holiday - an exploding furnace, a Little Orphan Annie decoder pin, an innocent experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost, and a wild rash of theatrical fantasies not for the "fra-gee-lay" of heart. After over 40 holiday seasons of delighting audiences, Jean Shepherd's account of his 1940s upbringing in the Midwest is not just a Christmas story, it's the Christmas story.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM IN HARLEM

Feb 1 - 19, 2023
Originally by William Shakespeare • Adapted and Directed by Justin Emeka

A BRIGHT REIMAGINING OF A MYTHIC COMEDY
"The course of true love never did run smooth..." In this heightened and hilarious retelling of the Bard's most magical romantic comedy, Resident Director Justin Emeka draws upon the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance to inject Shakespeare's beloved story with new life and humor, contemporary fashions and ancient rituals. In this adaptation, the world of mischievous fairies, lovelorn Athenians, and rude mechanicals is our world and celebrates Black culture with imaginative influences from around the globe. For Shakespeare scholars and visionaries alike, this production is the stuff that dreams are made on.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS

March 22 - April 9, 2023
By Robert Harling • Directed by Marya Sea Kaminski

LAUGHTER THROUGH TEARS IS THE BEST EMOTION
Before the iconic 1989 film broke box office records nationwide, Louisiana salon owner Truvy first set up shop on the stage. The colorful cast of regulars and employees that frequent her establishment include a mother-daughter duo planning a wedding, a woman who's "been in a bad mood for 40 years," and a mysterious newcomer. Through laughter, tears, and a thick fog of hairspray, these women face trials and triumphs armed with their greatest strength: each other.

YOUNG AMERICANS

April 26 - May 14, 2023
By Lauren Yee • Directed by Desdemona Chiang

WORLD PREMIERE OF ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST EXCITING NEW VOICES
Journey between two eras and two generations as celebrated playwright Lauren Yee sets the stage for us to road trip there and back in her hilarious, heartfelt new play. On parallel treks, Joe drives from D.C. to Portland trying to win the heart of his unfamiliar new fiancé Jenny and, twenty years later, drives the same roads back to have one last adventure with their adopted daughter Lucy before delivering her to college. With some unexpected detours along the way, immigrants Jenny and Joe traverse the strange territory of their new country while their daughter Lucy pieces together their bittersweet family history in this beautiful new comedy about the lengths we will go for the people we love. A world premiere co-production with Portland Center Stage.

FRIDA...A SELF PORTRAIT

June 7 - 25, 2023
Written and Performed by Vanessa Severo • Directed by Joanie Schultz

EXTRAORDINARY ONE-WOMAN TOUR DE FORCE
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's legendary life unfolds before us in this exquisite, muscular retelling of the ways she wielded her creative genius to survive a debilitating accident, to embody a magnificent parade of historical moments, and to transcend her passionate marriage to Diego Rivera. Terrific and turbulent, she lived boldly, loved wildly, and painted prolifically to see herself and the world around her more clearly. With stunning stagecraft and irresistible charm, Brazilian American writer and performer Vanessa Severo illuminates Frida's story with her own experience, unearthing powerful common ground between them and inviting us to experience Kahlo's rare genius firsthand.

Subscription Information

Current subscribers will receive subscription renewal information via mail and email. To renew directly, subscribers should call the O'Reilly Theater Box Office at 412.316.1600 or visit PPT.ORG/RENEW. New subscribers can purchase subscriptions by calling 412.316.1600, visiting the O'Reilly Theater Box Office, or emailing boxoffice@ppt.org for information. Individual tickets for 2022-2023 productions will go on sale in late summer.

Health & Safety Information

Pittsburgh Public Theater has joined with organizations across the Cultural District to implement health and safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These protocols will be updated in accordance with CDC, Allegheny County, and union guidelines on an ongoing basis. Visit PPT.ORG/HEALTH for current details.

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